Lidstrom takes step in right direction

DETROIT — Nicklas Lidstrom took part in his first full practice since suffering a deep ankle bone bruise three weeks ago.

“It felt better than a few days ago in L.A.,” Lidstrom said after the skate. “I was able to skate a little bit longer. I’m still day-to-day. We’ll see how it feels and how it reacts tomorrow.

“I still look at it being day-to-day,” Lidstrom added. “Hopefully it continues to get better every day. I’m hoping (this skate) will help it and it’s not going to get worse from skating. I’m just hoping it’s going to get better day-by-day.”

Lidstrom left the Wings’ three-game road trip early to just rest his ankle at home.

“It’s hard (to watch),” Lidstrom said. “You want to be there. It’s hard even sitting in the press box watching. You want to be on the bench, be there to support your team and just be there for your teammates.”

Lidstrom had another x-ray done on Friday and it showed no other damage other than a bruise. He also said the swelling had gone done a bit.

“That’s encouraging, especially compared to how it was that morning in L.A. when I couldn’t really stand when I had my skate on,” Lidstrom said. “That’s an improvement for sure. I was able to stand out there, pivot and do some turns.

“It’s been slowly getting better,” Lidstrom added. “The big test is when you put your skate on and you’re skating. That’s when the most pressure’s on it and you can really test it out. I can walk around and do all that. The most pain is from tying the skate, putting the pressure on where it’s hurting and trying to skate and trying to push off with your toes when you’re trying to skate. That’s what’s been bothering me.”

If he can skate, Lidstrom plans on going on the trip to New York when the Wings face the Rangers on Wednesday.